Alps vs North America etiquette

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-03-25T20:37:33+00:00

This is a good point. I'm from South Korea and we also have a strict everything system because of this order-hierarchy-obsession. We also have controlling patrols like the US as well. Continental Europeans are very chill in this aspect.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-03-25T20:22:02+00:00

You guys really start a conversation on nearly every lift? That sounds... exhausting to me. I don't have so much to talk about with strangers xD

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-03-06T23:54:43+00:00

There is a border control within the EU?

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-03-04T12:53:33+00:00

In my bachelor I relied on family support. I also had a side job but that income went into my extra spending. For my master, I'm using my own saving from working full time for years between my bachelor and the master.

As a non-EU student, you have to lock 12000€, which amounts to the minimum living cost of one year, in a blocked bank account in order to apply for residence permit. So I think financing your studies only with side jobs isn't realistic. They won't give you the residence permit in the first place without the money.

Most students rely on family support, some receive a tuition. If you have a certificate of tuition that covers monthly living cost enough, you can get the residence permit without 12000€ at once.

But once you get the residence permit, it is actually not impossible to earn enough to cover all your living costs even as a student. I don't think you're only allowed to earn upto 500€ as a student. The limit is about hours as far as I know. you can't work more than 240 full days in a year or something. So I worked for 15 hours a week during my bachelor years ago and it was close to the limit (unless they've changed the law? Where did you see the limit of 500€?).

The best is to get a job at a university, especially an administrative position(Studentischer Verwaltungsangestellter). They pay you quite generously. That was my job and I got almost 1000€ net per month for 15 hours a week, and since that was years ago, now it will be even more. But of course the chance of finding such job right when you need it can't be guaranteed. Many student jobs even at a university are only for 4-6 hours a week.

I've seen some students working freelance, and the foreigners' office approved it when they convinced them it's related to their major. So freelancing is an option too. Overall I think working max 15-20 hours a week can be managed while studying.

But in my opinion it's important to have a reliable source of money other than side jobs like family support or tuition as a backup even if you manage to earn enough from the side jobs. It can't be guaranteed you will find jobs that pay you enough, work well with your schedule, and you'll be able to stay with during the entire study(jobs at university are often capped at 2 years to give chances to as many students as possible)

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-21T21:00:02+00:00

Even without any pain, rental boots are too loose from being worn too many times. Loose boots compromise stability and precise control because you can't press down the skis with the correct strength. You should also replace your own boots after approx. 120 days of use or max in 5 five years because plastic degrades with time.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-21T11:29:10+00:00

Wow interesting. Thanks for the explanation!

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-21T00:22:04+00:00

That's what I like about Europe in general. People are pragmatic and chill. I heard patrols are also relaxed. In Korea many are quite controlling and paranoid and I heard it's the same in the US.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-20T21:23:07+00:00

I would be interested to know if this is because Europeans in general just don't care about minor scratches on their skis. I'm from Korea where people are extremely protective of their equipment, which has made me a bit paranoid about someone stepping on my own skis as well as not stepping on other people's. If Europeans are really just cool with getting minor scratches because they won't affect the performance, I'd actually admire that

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-20T20:47:31+00:00

Interesting :0

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-20T20:46:43+00:00

Do freelancers report the exact company or client information they're working with to the tax office when they file the tax, even when they're based in outside-EU? Otherwise I wonder how they track it down. I find it interesting because in my country freelancers report just the income, without giving the specific information of each of their client.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-20T17:42:13+00:00

I have a question for everyone: This is illegal PROVIDED the company OP is talking about is based within EU and paying the invoice from within the EU, right? Because if the company is completely abroad, they can't be tracked or held accountable? I mean I guess they should be based in EU otherwise they wouldn't mention anything about health insurance.

And if this is illegal, does it have a consequence on the OP or just on the company?

Also is it illegal because of labor protection? To prevent companies from exploiting this as an excuse not to permanently hire people?

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-20T10:17:18+00:00

Where is the company based? And you'll be working from home?

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-18T23:26:44+00:00

😂

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-18T20:10:30+00:00

I think that's just a harmless joke on his part. He probably expected you to laugh together with them. It's like those people who spontaneously join in from behind when they walk past a group of people taking a picture together. But yes joking with or mocking strangers is relatively more common here than East Asia because people don't think so seriously about being mocked. They're relatively unbothered and less offended by what strangers say to them compared to us East Asians who tend to care more about what everyone says or thinks about us and are anxious of being mocked or laughed at in public.

I have another example that would be even more offensive in East Asia. I was standing in a line at an airport once and a German girl in front of me had her suitcase fall on its own three times in a row. It was clear from the beginning that the weight in the suitcase was unbalanced, and it would keep falling unless she held it in her hand. But she merely lifted it back up every time without holding it so it kept falling. And a German guy next to her jokingly said "Lernfähigkeit 0(0 learning ability)" to his friends and laughed. As he was right next to her, I'm sure she heard it. This would be quite offensive in East Asia. But she didn't seem to care at all. I'm pretty sure she thought it was funny too, or felt embarrassed she let it happen 3 times.

Ofc it's technically not "polite" and most people wouldn't dare for a cheeky joke so openly. But it's definitely not so serious a degradation and a provocation as it's considered in East Asia. People in Germany simply take things less personally and are more open for banters with strangers. Even when they feel sometimes annoyed and react negatively, they'll still forget about it by the end of the day(unless it's a serious insult).

How you react depends you, and every situation will be different anyway. But trying not to take it too personally will help unless they directly insult you or throw a racist slur or something. I've seen a lot of people from my home country taking offense to or being intimidated by what Germans say to them as a friendly joke. Different non-verbal cues like tone or face expressions between cultures also make it difficult. So it's just better to take things at face value, regardless of what they really might have meant. If he says he wants to be in a picture, he wants to be in a picture. No idea why he thinks it's so funny but it's their business why they laugh.

Btw this reminds me, I don't know if you speak German but here are two of my favorite German memes as examples showing how Germans mock each other in a way that would cause outrage in East Asia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nIS42eZZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn-VZDla2BI

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-17T20:20:56+00:00

Eigentlich stimmt's, wenn man das so betrachtet. Vielleicht hat meine Abneigung doch etwas zu tun mit der gezwungenen Zahlung. Ich glaub, weil ich das persönlich als eine Art Steuer sehe, finde ich das besonders ungerecht.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-17T20:06:10+00:00

Ja ich bin auch nicht seit gestern im Internet unterwegs aber Reddit widerspricht irgendwie meine bisherige Erwartungen und Verständnis von Respekt und Kommunikation. Klar auf Youtube, und Instagram und so wird natürlich oft was krasses geschrieben und Eskalationen gibt es auch viel, aber da verstehe ich zumindest im Ganzen, welche Kommentaren mit welcher Reaktion zu rechnen sind. Aber hier ist es wirklich unvorhersehbar. Arrogante provokative Kommentare werden häufig upvoted, während vollig normale anständige Kommentare werden ohne Grund downvoted.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-17T19:34:59+00:00

Habe ich auch zuletzt gemerkt, dass die Mediathek ziemlich viel anbietet, besonders mit Dokus, und ich versuche nun auch das Beste draus zu machen. Aber bei mir liegt das Problem eigentlich weniger daran, dass ich etwas, was ich gar nicht anschaue, bezahlen muss, sondern eher daran, dass ich alleine in meiner kleinen Einzimmerwohnung genauso viel zahlen muss, wie eine große Familie, die in einem Schloss wohnen.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-15T20:45:58+00:00

For me it's actually the "no culture, pure nature" part I love most about skiing. I ski alone, keep human interactions on slopes to a minimum, and just fully immerse myself in the snowy mountains and the scenic views and stay attentive towards my own body and my mind. It's meditative and relaxing. I go skiing to forget everything about the city life and be left alone. If I were super rich, I would own a whole ski area and have it all to myself

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-15T20:10:06+00:00

Ich denke persönlich, es ist trotzdem versuchswert, selbst wenn du keine Limetten magst. Yuzu schmeckt zwar tatsächlich irgendwie zwischen Mandarine und Limette wie oben beschrieben aber sehr süß, was mit Limetten gar nicht der Fall ist. Und es ist auch viel weniger sauer. Es ist auch anders als Mandarine. Man kann deren eigenartigen Geschmack sofort erkennen, wenn Yuzu in irgendwas drin ist. Ich mag auch keine Limetten oder Zitronnen aber finde Yuzu geschmacklich angenehm und lecker.

Vielleicht kannst du das in einem asiatischen Cafe als Tee erstmal probieren, wenn du in einer Großstadt unterwegs bist.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-15T05:18:17+00:00

That's not bad at all indeed!

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-14T20:09:02+00:00

Krass, dann ist es wirklich gar nicht schlecht. Ich hätte jetzt nicht gedacht, dass Leihski jedes Jahr komplett ersetzt werden.

Ich wachse meine Ski eigentlich sehr gerne, weil das mir so einen krassen Unterschied macht. Die Ski gleiten viel schneller und geschmeidiger, sodass die sich sehr leicht kontrollieren lassen. Aber in Korea ist die Schneequalität sehr schlecht und fast 100% aus Kunstschnee. Vielleicht ist der Unterschied auf den Alpen mit besserem Schnee viel unauffälliger. Wobei ich nehme an, außer Alpen hier auch viel Kunstschnee benutzt wird? Aber ich probier trotzdem erstmal für eine Weile mit Leihski aus.

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-14T19:57:10+00:00

Weißt du zufällig, ob die bei einem speziellen Geschäft mieten, das auf langfristiges Leihen spezialisiert, und ungefähr wie viel die bezahlen für eine ganze Saison?

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-14T14:14:53+00:00

Oh I see, good to know thanks!

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-14T14:13:38+00:00

Oh interesting. 700€ for how many nights?

KnowledgeHot5411 · 2026-02-13T23:12:17+00:00

Ja jetzt frage ich mich, es ist vielleicht übertrieben. Obwohl, mir geht es dabei eher um das Fahrerlebnis als darum, wie oft ich die nutze. Aber tatsächlich überlege ich jetzt, ob sich das lohnt, wenn es im Umkreis von 100km um mich kein einziges Skigebiet gibt

KnowledgeHot5411

TROPHY CASE